Google Promises To Stop Trawling Student Gmail For Ads

Google announced Wednesday that it will no longer sift through the Gmail messages of students, business users and government bureaucrats for targeted advertising purposes—at least for those using its Google Apps suites. The decision stemmed from privacy concerns raised during a California court case last year, in which students and other users of Google Apps for Education questioned the legality of the practice, likening it to wiretapping, even though Google displayed no ads to those users.

The company will also implement similar changes for Google Apps users in business and government. The change doesn’t affect individual Gmail accounts.

Google will host a Hangout on Air on Thursday, May 1, at 9:00 am PT to discuss the changes to Google for Education and answer any questions.

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